Saffron Walden, Essex - Parish Church - postcard by Jerome, Stansted 1939 pmk

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Saffron Walden Parish Church [Essex] (interior) - real photo
• Publisher:  Jerome Ltd.
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  George V 1d red
• Postmark(s):  Stansted 26 May 1939 cds
• Sent to:  Mr & Mrs. Hollingsworth, 252 Selsdon Road, South Croydon, Surrey
• Notes / condition: 

Please ask if you need any other information and I will do the best I can to answer.

Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

------------------------------------------------

Postage & Packing:

Postage and packing charge should be showing for your location (contact if not sure).

No additional charges for more than one postcard. You can buy as many postcards from me as you like and you will just pay the fee above once. Please wait for combined invoice. (If buying postcards with other things such as books, please contact or wait for invoice before paying).

Payment Methods:

UK - PayPal, Cheque (from UK bank) or postal order

Outside UK: PayPal ONLY (unless otherwise stated) please.   NO non-UK currency checks or money orders (sorry).

NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

----------------------------------------------

Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

*************

Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is 12 miles (19 km) north of Bishop's Stortford, 18 miles (29 km) south of Cambridge and 43 miles (69 km) north of London. The town retains a rural appearance and has buildings dating from the medieval period onwards. In 2001 the parish had a population of 14,313, which had increased to 15,504 by the 2011 census.^[1

Archaeological evidence suggests continuous settlement on or near the site of Saffron Walden from at least the Neolithic period.^[2] It is believed that a small Romano-British settlement and fort – possibly in the area around Abbey Lane – existed as an outpost of the much larger settlement of Cestreforda to the north.^[2]

After the Norman invasion of 1066, a stone church was built. Walden Castle dates from around 1140. It may have been built on a pre-existing fortification.^[3] A priory, Walden Abbey, was founded under the patronage of Geoffrey de Mandeville, first Earl of Essex around 1136 on the site of what is now Audley End village.^[2] The abbey was separated from the town of Walden by Holywell Field. After the dissolution of the monasteries, Sir Thomas Audley converted the abbey cloisters into a dwelling. Later this would become the site of Audley End House.^[2]

The market was moved from nearby Newport to Saffron Walden during de Mandeville's tenure, increasing the town's influence. The Tuesday market operated from 1295.^[2] The town’s first charter was granted in around 1300, to what was known then as Chepyng Walden, meaning Market Walden.^[2] The town was largely confined to the castle's outer bailey, but in the 13th century the Battle or Repel Ditches were built or extended to enclose a larger area to the south. The focus of the town moved southwards to Market Square.

In the medieval period the primary trade was in wool and a guild hall was built by the wool-staplers in the market place. It was demolished in 1847 and replaced by a corn exchange.^[2] In the 16th and 17th centuries the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) was widely grown, thanks to the town's favourable soil and climate. The flower was precious, as the extract from the stigmas was used in medicines, as a condiment, in perfume, as an aphrodisiac, and as an expensive yellow dye. The industry gave Walden its name.^[2]

The town and surrounding area, like much of East Anglia, was strongly Puritan during the 17th century. The population was influenced by the missionary John Eliot. By 1640, Samuel Bass's family and a number of others had departed for the Massachusetts Bay Colony as part of the Great Migration.^[4]

Saffron Walden was at the centre of the Eastern Association during the English Civil War. While the town was the headquarters of the New Model Army, Lieutenant-General of Horse, Oliver Cromwell paid a 19-day visit in May 1647, participating in debates to seek a settlement between Parliament and the army.^[5]He is reputed to have stayed at the Sun Inn.^[6]

By the end of the 18th century the saffron flower was no longer in demand, and the industry was replaced by malt and barley. More than 40 maltings stood in the town at the end of the century.^[7] The trade was not so lucrative as saffron but the town continued to grow throughout the 19th century and had a cattle market, corn exchange and other civic buildings. During this time Quakers became active; the most influential family, the Gibsons – one of the founding families of Barclays Bank – aided the construction of several public buildings that remain today, such as the museum and town hall.^[8][9]

In the 1900s the Saffron Walden branch railway line from Audley End station, on the mainline from London to Cambridge, was extended to Bartlow. The branch closed in the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.^[10] Heavy industry arrived after the Second World War. Acrows Ltd, makers of falsework, built premises to the east of the town and became a significant employer and economic influence in the area.^[11] For a short time there was a dedicated railway station for the works known as Acrow Halt.^[12] Light industry was added to the south of the town at Shire Hill. As the agricultural economy continued to mechanise, the new-found employment opportunities were welcome and a period of migration into the town from surrounding villages led to major expansion of housing estates in the 1970s and 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

Saffron Walden's unofficial coat of arms showed the saffron crocus within the walls of the castle in the form of an heraldic pun – as in, "Saffron walled-in". In 1961, a formal coat of arms was granted by the College of Arms and this was adapted in 1974 into its current form.^[13]

The town has three ceremonial maces. The large mace was given to Saffron Walden by James II in 1685 and provides an early recording of the unofficial coat of arms. Made of silver gilt, it is approximately 4 feet (1.2 m) long. Two smaller silver maces were bought by the corporation in 1549 to commemorate the granting of a new town charter by Edward VI. This purchase is recorded in the town's Guild of Holy Trinity accounts and reads, "For 2 new maces, weying 18 ownces one quarter and half at 8s. the ownce 7l.7s".^[13]

The 12th-century Walden Castle, built or expanded by Geoffrey de Mandeville, the first Earl of Essex is in ruins. After the medieval period, the castle fell into disuse and much of the flint was taken and used in the construction of local houses and the wall surrounding the Audley End estate. All that remains is the ruined basement.

Near to the castle is a turf maze, a series of circular excavations cut into the turf of the common. It is the largest example of this style of maze in England, the main part is about 100 feet (30 m) in diameter. The earliest record of it dates from 1699, although its origin may be earlier. It has been extensively restored several times, most recently in 1979.^[14][15]

The oldest inhabited building in the town is believed to be the former maltings at 1 Myddleton Place. The 15th-century building with a courtyard garden was used by the Youth Hostel Association from 1947 to 2010.^[16] It is now used for functions.^[17] Pevsner described it as: "without doubt, the best medieval house of Saffron Walden".^[18] Other notable early buildings are in Bridge Street, Castle Street and the side streets off the High Street. The High Street contains some late-Georgian and Victorian buildings.^[18]

Bridge End Gardens, seven interlinked gardens – including a maze, rose garden and walled garden – was originally laid out by the Gibson family. They have been restored with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and volunteers.^[19][20]

St Mary the Virgin, Saffron Walden is the largest parish church in Essex.^[21] The church dates mainly from the end of the 15th century, when an old smaller church was extensively rebuilt by the master mason John Wastell who was building King's College Chapel in the nearby city of Cambridge. In 1769 it was damaged by lightning and the repairs, carried out in the 1790s, removed many medieval features. The spire was added in 1832 to replace an older "lantern" tower. The church is 183 feet (56 m) long and the spire, 193 feet (59 m) high, is the tallest in Essex.

The town's Catholic church, Our Lady of Compassion, is on Castle Street. Created in 1906 from a 16th-century barn, it was restored in 2004-5.^[22] With a long history of non-conformism, Saffron Walden has a Baptist church and a Quaker meeting house. There is a United Reformed Church on Abbey Lane, a Methodistchurch on Castle Street and the independent Gold Street Chapel on Gold Street.^[23]